GLASGOW'S heroic skipper Al Kellock praised Warriors' resolute defending in their triumph over rivals Edinburgh.

In the first leg of their 1872 Cup clash, the Scotstoun club ran out 16-6 winners in what was a dogged fight under the Glasgow lights.

Early promise from the Auld Reekie club was dealt with well by Gregor Townsend's men, who now go into Friday's return at Murrayfield with the scent of victory wafting in their nostrils.

There is also a strong whiff of satisfaction given the victory resulted in Glasgow rocketing back to the top of the Guinness PRO12.

And while the returning Kellock was named as the man-of-the-match after the game, he was quick to heap compliments on those around him in a jubilant Scotstoun dressing room.

He said: "Edinburgh had a good first half and we expected their physicality, so our defence had to be outstanding, and it was. The boys were not just tackling, they were tackling with bite.

"These games are always very physical, we knew exactly what we had to bring. You have to give credit to Edinburgh. I thought we had done enough in the last 10 minutes of the first half to try and push on, but they held us well."

Speaking about hooker Pat MacArthur and centre Peter Horne, he added: "Pat's basics are so good, he made the line-out easy for me. Peter has outstanding qualities: passing, speed, physicality - these are the qualities that win you games."

A win this Friday in the capital would bring the curtain down on a truly memorable year for all at Warriors.

Having made it to the Pro12 final for the first time last season, they have kicked on in superb fashion in this campaign with them currently riding high with just two defeats from 11 games.

There is also still the possibility of progression from their group in the European Rugby Champions Cup, albeit there job has been made harder courtesy of back-to-back defeats to Toulouse earlier this month.

That double dunt is something Kellock is not fazed by, however. And the Barbarians man is looking for his team-mates to continue to learn from their mistakes and build for the future, just as they did on Saturday against Edinburgh.

He said: "What we've got to try and do from those games is learn and improve. I believe we did that in the second half against Munster [in a 21-18 victory last week] and the first half especially against Edinburgh.

"You lose games. Every team is going to do it. But you have to make sure you are moving forward all the time. We need to peak at the right time. You look at Leinster and Munster, and over the years they have been fantastic at the end of the season while being consistent throughout.

"That consistency is there for us. What we need to do is go that one step up at the end of the season as well. First and foremost we need to put ourselves in the position to get into those play-offs."

Speaking about his team's chances of winning the 1872 Cup after losing the first leg, Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons said: "It is not an impossible task, if we cut down on errors. We turned over too much ball and, as a result, our field position suffered.

"One or two errors cost us dearly. Tommy Brown is an excellent tackler, but he got bowled over."